Well, my beloved Kings certainly were terrible this year. 17 wins in 82 chances. Good for not only the worst record in the league, but also the worst record in franchise history. But let’s search for a silver lining here. There had to be something positive we learned about this club in its’ horrendous 2008-09 season. Umm…..did I mention that we have Kevin Martin?
So let’s take a look:

8 Things We Learned In Sacto This Year

1. This team, as constructed, really really can’t play defense.

2. Kevin Martin, at least on offense, is as gangsta as it gets.  24.6 points on 15.9 shots.  Led the league with 9.0 Free Throws made per game.  You know what else that says?  If you score 25 points on 16 shots, you probably should have taken 25.  Once again.  We need to get him the ball more.  With his incredible efficiency, he should score 30 ppg easily.  The kid is a stud, let’s get him the ball more.  Of course, the one guy who knew exactly how and where to get him the ball is now the backup center in Chicago.  Grrrreat…

3. This Jason Thompson kid can sure play.  Ok, so he’s listed as 6-11 (laughable) but he’s really 6-7-ish.  Honestly, in the picture to the left, he doesn’t look that much taller than K-Mart.  But he’s great on the boards on both ends.  And if he didn’t average 4 fouls a game, I’m sure his numbers would be much better.  His foul troubles kept him under 30 minutes per game, despite his enthusiasm.  He could be either a starting 4, or a early rotation guy on a playoff/championship-caliber team.  Just keep that in mind if we draft Blake Griffin or Hasheem Thabeet or even Jordan Hill.

4. Spencer Hawes can shoot.  From anywhere.  The Kings’ 7-foot center shot 35% from behind the arc this season.  He has some nifty Pau Gasol-like moves in the post as well.  The guy can flat out score.  Of course, he also averaged under 30 minutes/game because of foul problems.  Let’s get these guys working on footwork all offseason.  If you’re not gonna stop the score, just get out of the damn way!

5.  Kenny Natt is NOT the coach for this team.  This was evident when midseason pickup Ike Diogu schooled everyone towards the end of the season, outplaying both Hawes and Thompson when he got the minutes.  Diogu won’t be any more a part of this column seeing as how he is very unlikely to stay, but it should be noted that everyone seems to say he was outplaying them in practce from the minute he came here.  Did Natt just think he was a “practice player”?  What took him so long to give him a shot?

6.  Everyone thinks Eddie Jordan is probably the right coach for this team.  I disagree.  I think Eddie Jordan is DEFINITELY the right coach for this team.  What are we going to do?  Bring in Jeff Van Gundy?  This team isn’t kidding anyone.  We are not the Spurs or the Jazz, our guys can score and are NOT the personnel for a defensive-oriented team.

7.  Francisco loves Kevin Martin.  Though, he doesn’t seem to love him enough to pass to him.  But Francisco went to bat for K-Mart in the face of ciriticism about K-Mart’s D. Says Cisco: ” I know Kev can play defense, because I’ve been there with him. He came back early, and everybody could see he was limping on the court. He couldn’t even dunk. … He still had his 24 points. What do you expect from a guy like that? He still went out there to compete, and he still was hurt.” Cisco is one of my favorite players, but he’s not a second gun as he was on this team.  He’s a sixth man for a good team.

8. And then there’s Beno Udrih.  He sucks.